Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage showed a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
